Total re-think of our heating and cooking, currently LPG. Ideas?

lardconcepts

We live in rural Wales. When we bought the place, the previous owner sold us her full tank of LPG for a song. It runs the cooker and the central heating boiler only. We heat our main room with an efficient log burner. The hot water is immersion heating, standard rate.It comes on for 2 * 30 mins a day, as the shower is electric and we have a dishwasher, so not that inefficient.

During the summer, we use gas only to cook. The tank has lasted 3 years and has about 2 months before empty. It costs nearly 30p/day to rent the tank. The contract will come to an end at around the time the gas runs out.

Our electricity bill has risen to £85/month. That's for 3 of us, and includes 2 pumps for the water and a UV purification system (there's no water rates - bonus!).

However, looking to the future, with another 9% electricity rise just added, my head is spinning with books, forum posts here, and all the possible choices. Change will be expensive, but an investment hopefully, again sudden oil/other fuel price rises.

Things which basic mathematics and use of brain have ruled out:

Solar (thermal or PV): In Wales? Next!

Wood: Nice idea, but wood prices seem to be growing faster than a leylandii hedge.

Switch to oil: Now here's an odd one. People keep persuading us to switch to oil. But oil is between 20 and 50p per litre more than LPG. Considering the cost of a new boiler too, how can that possibly ever work out? Funny, the pro-oil boiler people never want to discuss the workings-out...

Night rate electricity, and convert the shower to run of DHWC night-heated water: Tempting. The shower makes the dial spin like my head when I see the bills. But finding a decent electricity only tarrif including economy 7 is very hard. No mains gas here, so all those dual-fuel deals are meaningless.

Night rate plus thermal store: This is my current favourite: a gigantic cylinder of economy 7 heated water, which acts like a heat exchanger so the radiators can run off it too.

Things I'd rather avoid involve underfloor heating - I have a feeling we just don't have the budget for it, judging by other people's quotes.

OR.... keep everything as is, and dump the big gas tank and switch to bottled gas. As we use so little, I feel it might work out cheaper than paying 29p/day to rent the tank.

Is there some sort of website or guide I can plug in all the numbers, like area, boiler capacity, hot water used, number of people etc?

olias

Ground source heat pump (If you have the land, though you can do it through a bore hole so you dont need as much land)
Air source heat pump
Wood pellet boiler - you discounted wood, but I assume you were meaning seasoned logs for a wood burner with boiler. Wood pellet boilers are far more efficient and controlable, and the pellets far cheaper than seasoned wood.

Personally, I would go for the third option (wood pellet boiler), retaining a smaller LPG tank for cooking, and the immersion heater for emergencies.

NB - If you do look into this, then do your research. A friend imported a wood pellet boiler from Poland for nearly half the cost it would have cost him through a UK supplier. They even sent someone over with it from Poland to install and commision it!

Olias

lardconcepts

olias wrote: »

Ground source heat pump (If you have the land, though you can do it through a bore hole so you dont need as much land)

Thanks! I forgot that! We've hardly got any garden, but when you mentioned bore hole it perked me up. Actually, since I first thought about it a couple of years back, things have changed.

Notably that the non-guaranteed shared water supply, while free, is not totally reliable. But the last person round here to get a borehole paid £2000 and that was 12 years back. The rock here is very hard and I dread to think what it would be now. I've not even dared get a quote!

BUT are you saying that I could combine a drinking water bore hole AND a GSHP in one go? I wonder if there's a grant for that sort of thing. I'll go a-googling in a moment!

olias wrote: »

Air source heat pump

The one I saw was only for underfloor heating and provided a background few degrees of warmth. Perhaps I should investigate more.

olias wrote: »

Wood pellet boiler - you discounted wood, but I assume you were meaning seasoned logs for a wood burner with boiler. Wood pellet boilers are far more efficient and controlable, and the pellets far cheaper than seasoned wood.

Personally, I would go for the third option (wood pellet boiler), retaining a smaller LPG tank for cooking, and the immersion heater for emergencies.

It makes sense, at the moment. But as more people jump on the bandwagon, I just have this hunch that scarcity of supply will drive up prices. It's a BIG upfront investment, and if woodchip prices doubled in 5 years I'd be kicking myself.

olias wrote: »

NB - If you do look into this, then do your research. A friend imported a wood pellet boiler from Poland for nearly half the cost it would have cost him through a UK supplier. They even sent someone over with it from Poland to install and commision it!

Olias

Thanks, that's a good tip.

When before I spend ANY sort of money, I usually research it to oblivion, being a natural tightwad as I am! It's just a bit daunting - it's not like we're testing the water with one small thing, it's going to be a large change, all at once, involving a reasonably hefty loan. It's one of those scary things I'd rather not think about, but I'm pretty sure if anyone can advise, then it's the forum members on MSE!

You've given me more food for thought, anyway.

bobmedley

Bottled gas for cooking, modern storage heaters and 2-3 Air source Hyperinverters on E7 - relatively cheap, virtually maintenance free and the kw's *should* be 5p or less for your heating (obviously depends on the E7 tarrifs available to you). Slightly more than gas, but cheaper than oil, LPG, pellets etc.